Wireless communication device, information processing device, and communication method

ABSTRACT

A wireless communication device performs an inter-device wireless communication with another wireless communication device in accordance with the Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) Direct specification. This wireless communication device includes a transmitting unit. This transmitting unit incorporates information about the role of the wireless communication device into an action frame specified in the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11 specification, and then transmits the action frame.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technique relates to wireless communication devices. Moreparticularly, the present technique relates to wireless communicationdevices that exchange various kinds of information by using wirelesscommunications, an information processing device, and a communicationmethod.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, wireless communication devices that perform wirelesscommunications by using wireless LANs (local Area Networks) have beenwidely spread. As typical examples of the wireless LANs, wireless LANscompliant with IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)802.11 are widely spread.

There is also a suggested wireless communication system that performswireless communications by using the same frequency among wirelesscommunication devices (see Patent Document 1, for example).

CITATION LIST Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-124980

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

With the above conventional technique, a connection to another group canbe established while the connections among the wireless communicationdevices forming the same group are maintained.

While the wireless communication devices are wirelessly connected,various kinds of applications might be executed among those wirelesscommunication devices. For example, an application might be designatedby a user operation both before and after wireless connectionestablishment. In this case, it would be convenient if an applicationdesired by a user can be readily used both before and after wirelessconnection establishment, for example.

The present technique has been developed in view of those circumstances,and aims to allow users to readily use desired applications.

Solutions to Problems

The present technique has been developed to solve the above problem, anda first aspect thereof is a wireless communication device, acommunication method for the wireless communication device, and aprogram for causing a computer to implement the method. The wirelesscommunication device performs an inter-device wireless communicationwith another wireless communication device in accordance with the Wi-Fi(Wireless Fidelity) Direct specification, and includes a transmittingunit that incorporates information about the role of the wirelesscommunication device into an action frame specified in the IEEE(Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11 specification,and transmits the action frame. With this structure, an inter-devicewireless communication can be performed with another wirelesscommunication device in accordance with the Wi-Fi Direct specification,and information about the role of the wireless communication device canbe incorporated into an action frame specified in the IEEE802.11specification, and then be transmitted.

In this first aspect, the transmitting unit may perform the transmissionwhen the wireless communication device is P2P (Peer-to-Peer)-connectedto the other wireless communication device. With this arrangement, thetransmission can be performed when a P2P connection to another wirelesscommunication device is maintained.

In this first aspect, the information about the role of the wirelesscommunication device may be information about one of a source and a sinkthat are compliant with the Wi-Fi Display specification. With thisarrangement, information about a source or a sink compliant with theWi-Fi Display specification can be incorporated into an action framespecified in the IEEE802.11 specification, and then be transmitted.

In this first aspect, the action frame may be a vendor specific actionframe specified in the IEEE802.11 specification. With this arrangement,information about the role of the wireless communication device can beincorporated into a vendor specific action frame specified in theIEEE802.11 specification, and then be transmitted.

In this first aspect, the information about the role of the wirelesscommunication device may be incorporated into a vendor specific contentarea in the vendor specific action frame. With this arrangement,information about the role of the wireless communication device can beincorporated into the vendor specific content area in a vendor specificaction frame, and then be transmitted.

In this first aspect, the action frame may include a type informationportion and an information element portion. With this arrangement, anaction frame that includes a type information portion and an informationelement portion can be transmitted.

In this first aspect, the transmitting unit may incorporate informationabout the fourth layer into the action frame, and then transmit theaction frame. With this arrangement, information about the fourth layercan be incorporated into an action frame, and then be transmitted.

In this first aspect, the information about the fourth layer may includeat least information about RTSP. With this arrangement, fourth layerinformation that includes at least information about RTSP can betransmitted.

In this first aspect, the information about the fourth layer may includeat least information about the port number used in the RTSP. With thisarrangement, fourth layer information that includes at least informationabout the port number used in RTSP can be transmitted.

In this first aspect, the information about the role of the wirelesscommunication device and the information about the fourth layer may bearranged so that the information about the role of the wirelesscommunication device comes before the information about the fourth layerin the action frame. With this arrangement, an action frame in whichinformation about the role of the wireless communication device andinformation about the fourth layer are arranged in this order can betransmitted.

In this first aspect, the transmitting unit may incorporate capabilityinformation into the action frame, and then transmit the action frame.With this arrangement, capability information can be incorporated intoan action frame, and then be transmitted.

In this first aspect, the capability information may include at leastinformation about the existence or non-existence of compatibility withcontent protection compliant with the Wi-Fi Display specification. Withthis arrangement, capability information that includes at leastinformation about the existence or non-existence of compatibility withcontent protection compliant with the Wi-Fi Display specification can betransmitted.

A second aspect of the present technique is a wireless communicationdevice, a communication method for the wireless communication device,and a program for causing a computer to implement the method. Thewireless communication device includes: a communication unit thatperforms an inter-device wireless communication with another devicediscovered through a connection discovery process; and a control unitthat operates a first application designated in the connection discoveryprocess based on the timing of establishment of a connection of theinter-device wireless communication, wherein, when a second applicationis executed while the first application is being operated, thecommunication unit incorporates information about the second applicationinto an action frame specified in the IEEE802.11 specification, andtransmits the action frame. With this structure, an inter-devicewireless communication can be performed with another device discoveredthrough a connection discovery process, a first application designatedin the connection discovery process can be operated based on the timingof establishment of a connection of the inter-device wirelesscommunication, and information about a second application can beincorporated into an action frame specified in the IEEE802.11specification and then be transmitted when the second application isexecuted while the first application is being operated.

In this second aspect, the control unit may end the first applicationbased on the timing of a start of operation of the second application.With this arrangement, the first application can be ended based on thetiming of a start of operation of the second application.

In this second aspect, the control unit may reduce the amount of databeing communicated about the first application based on the timing of astart of operation of the second application. With this arrangement, theamount of data being communicated about the first application can bereduced based on the timing of a start of operation of the secondapplication.

In this second aspect, the control unit may regularly or irregularlycheck the operation state of the first application after a start ofoperation of the second application. With this arrangement, theoperation state of the first application can be regularly or irregularlychecked after a start of operation of the second application.

In this second aspect, the second application may be Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDMiracast. With this arrangement, information about Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDMiracast can be incorporated into an action frame specified in theIEEE802.11 specification, and then be transmitted.

In this second aspect, the first application may be DLNA (Digital LivingNetwork Alliance). With this arrangement, DLNA designated in aconnection discovery process can be operated.

In this second aspect, the communication unit may transmit a FIN packet(finish packet) in TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) based on thetiming of the start of operation of the second application. With thisarrangement, a FIN packet in TCP can be transmitted based on the timingof a start of operation of the second application.

A third aspect of the present technique is a wireless communicationdevice, a communication method for the wireless communication device,and a program for causing a computer to implement the method. Thewireless communication device performs an inter-device wirelesscommunication with another wireless communication device in accordancewith the Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) Direct specification, and includes: atransmitting unit that incorporates information about the role of thewireless communication device into an action frame specified in the IEEE(Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11 specification,and transmits the action frame; a display unit that displays image data;and a protocol switching unit that switches the protocol using theinter-device wireless communication. With this structure, aninter-device wireless communication can be performed with anotherwireless communication device in accordance with the Wi-Fi Directspecification, information about the role of the wireless communicationdevice can be incorporated into an action frame specified in theIEEE802.11 specification and then be transmitted, image data can bedisplayed, and the protocol using the inter-device wirelesscommunication can be switched.

In this third aspect, the wireless communication device may furtherinclude an operation accepting unit that accepts a user operation, andthe transmitting unit transmits the information about the role of thewireless communication device based on the timing of acceptance of auser operation for starting a communication of image data, the useroperation having been accepted by the operation accepting unit. Withthis arrangement, information about the role of the wirelesscommunication device can be transmitted based on the timing ofacceptance of a user operation (a user operation for starting acommunication of image data) accepted by the operation accepting unit.

In this third aspect, the transmitting unit may transmit image datadisplayed on the display unit, by using the protocol switched by theprotocol switching unit. With this arrangement, image data displayed onthe display unit can be transmitted by using the protocol switched bythe protocol switching unit.

A fourth aspect of the present technique is an information processingdevice, an information processing method for the information processingdevice, and a program for causing a computer to implement the program.The information processing device includes: a processor; and a memorystoring a program to be executed by the processor. The program causesthe processor to carry out: a first procedure to perform an inter-devicewireless communication with another device in accordance with the Wi-FiDirect specification; and a second procedure to incorporate informationabout the role of the wireless communication device using theinformation processing device into an action frame specified in theIEEE802.11 specification, and transmit the action frame. With thisstructure, an inter-device wireless communication can be performed withanother device in accordance with the Wi-Fi Direct specification, andinformation about the role of the wireless communication device usingthe information processing device can be incorporated into an actionframe specified in the IEEE802.11 specification, and then betransmitted.

In this fourth aspect, the program may further cause the processor tocarry out a signal processing procedure to process image data. With thisarrangement, signal processing can be performed to process image data.

In this fourth aspect, the program may further cause the processor tocarry out a procedure to adjust power consumption in accordance withoperation of the processor. With this arrangement, power consumption canbe adjusted in accordance with operation of the processor.

Effects of the Invention

The present technique can provide a great effect to allow users toreadily use desired applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example structure of a communicationsystem 10 in a first embodiment of the present technique.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example functional structure of afirst wireless communication device 100 in the first embodiment of thepresent technique.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example structure of a peerlist 180 stored in the memory 150 in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example display screen (a connectiondetail select screen 190) displayed on the display unit 170 of the firstwireless communication device 100 in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 5 is a sequence chart showing an example communication process tobe performed by each device on which the present technique is based.

FIG. 6 is a sequence chart showing an example communication process tobe performed by each device on which the present technique is based.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an example structure of theformat of a frame to be transmitted/received in a communication processby each device on which the present technique is based.

FIG. 8 is a sequence chart showing an example communication process tobe performed by each device on which the present technique is based.

FIG. 9 is a sequence chart showing an example communication process tobe performed by each device on which the present technique is based.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing an example structure of theformat of a frame to be transmitted/received in a communication processbetween respective devices in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing an example structure of theformat of a frame to be transmitted/received in a communication processbetween respective devices in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing an example structure of theformat of a frame to be transmitted/received in a communication processbetween respective devices in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the information element to betransmitted/received in a communication process between respectivecommunication devices in the first embodiment of the present technique.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing example WFD sessions to be conducted bywireless communication devices in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example display in a case where awireless communication of image data is performed by Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDMiracast in the communication system 10 in the first embodiment of thepresent technique.

FIG. 16 is a sequence chart showing an example communication process tobe performed by each device in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the procedures in an examplecommunication process to be performed by the first wirelesscommunication device 100 in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the procedures in the examplecommunication process to be performed by the first wirelesscommunication device 100 in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the procedures in the examplecommunication process to be performed by the first wirelesscommunication device 100 in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing an example structure of aninformation processing device 800 in a second embodiment of the presenttechnique.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship betweenperformance and power consumption of the information processing device800 in the second embodiment of the present technique.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The following is a description of modes for carrying out the presenttechnique (hereinafter referred to as the embodiments). Explanation willbe made in the following order.

1. First embodiment (Communication control: an example where a specificapplication to be used after establishment of a connection in the secondlayer is designated, without cutoff of the connection in the secondlayer)

2. Second embodiment (Communication control: an example of aninformation processing device used in a wireless communication device)

1. Embodiments Example Structure of a Communication System

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example structure of a communicationsystem 10 in a first embodiment of the present technique.

The communication system 10 includes a first wireless communicationdevice 100, a second wireless communication device 200, a third wirelesscommunication device 300, and a fourth wireless communication device400.

The first wireless communication device 100, the second wirelesscommunication device 200, the third wireless communication device 300,and the fourth wireless communication device 400 each have a wirelesscommunication function, are connected to one another, and are capable oftransmitting/receiving various kinds of information by using wirelesscommunications. The respective wireless communication devices arewireless communication device compliant with IEEE (Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11, which enables P2P (Peer toPeer) connections. That is, the respective wireless communicationdevices form a communication group, and can communicate directly withone another without the intervention of an access point (not shown). Inthis case, which wireless communication device is to operate as thegroup owner and which wireless communication devices are to operate asclients may or may not be determined when the respective wirelesscommunication devices are manufactured. In a case where anydetermination is not made at the time of manufacturing, the wirelesscommunication devices can determine, through negotiation, which one ofthe wireless communication devices is to operate as the group owner, andwhich ones of the wireless communication devices are to operate asclients. For example, in a case where the first wireless communicationdevice 100 and the second wireless communication device 200 form acommunication group, the first wireless communication device 100 cantransmit data (video content, for example) directly to the secondwireless communication device 200. In this case, the wirelesscommunication devices are connected to each other, and video contentstored in the first wireless communication device 100 can be displayedon the second wireless communication device 200. Known examples ofcommunications standards for allowing wireless communication devices tocommunicate directly with one another include Wi-Fi Direct.

The first wireless communication device 100 is a portable telephonedevice (such as a wireless communication device having a verbalcommunication function and a data communication function), for example.The second wireless communication device 200 is a video viewing device(such as a television receiver with a built-in hard disk) that recordsor displays video content, for example. The third wireless communicationdevice 300 is an information processing device (such as a notebook PC(Personal Computer)) that performs various kinds of informationprocessing, for example. The fourth wireless communication device 400 isa portable information processing device (such as a smartphone having averbal communication function and a data communication function), forexample.

The first wireless communication device 100, the second wirelesscommunication device 200, the third wireless communication device 300,and the fourth wireless communication device 400 can be connected to anaccess point (not shown) by using wireless communications, totransmit/receive various kinds of information. Here, the access point isan access point compliant with a wireless LAN standard such asIEEE802.11a/b/g/n. That is, with a router and an access point (or aproduct having a router including an access point, for example), awireless LAN standardized by IEEE802.11a/b/g/n is realized.

Examples of data to be communicated among the wireless communicationdevices include music data of music and radio programs, image data ofmovies, television programs, video programs, photographs, documents,pictures, drawings, and the like, game data, or data of software and thelike.

The wireless communication devices shown in FIG. 1 are merely examples,and this embodiment can also be applied to some other wirelesscommunication devices. For example, this embodiment can be applied to animaging device (such as a digital still camera or a digital video camera(a recorder with a camera, for example)) having a wireless communicationfunction, and an audio output device (such as a portable music player)having a wireless communication function. Also, this embodiment can beapplied to a display device (such as a digital photo frame) having awireless communication function, and an electronic book reader having awireless communication function, for example. This embodiment can alsobe applied to other information processing devices each having awireless communication function, for example. Examples of informationprocessing devices having a wireless communication function include homevideo processing devices (such as DVD recorders and video cassetterecorders), PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), home video gamemachines, electric household appliances, portable video processingdevices, portable game machines, and the like. This embodiment can beapplied to information processing devices (such as personal computershaving no wireless communication functions) that can perform wirelesscommunications when equipped with a wireless communication device havinga wireless communication function, for example.

[Example Structure of a Wireless Communication Device]

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example functional structure of afirst wireless communication device 100 in the first embodiment of thepresent technique. The functional structures (functional structuresrelated to wireless communications) of the second wireless communicationdevice 200, the third wireless communication device 300, and the fourthwireless communication device 400 are substantially the same as thefunctional structure of the first wireless communication device 100, andtherefore, explanation of them is omitted herein. Also, when thecomponents of the respective wireless communication devices other thanthe first wireless communication device 100 are explained in thedescription below, the same reference numerals as those used for thefirst wireless communication device 100 will be used.

The first wireless communication device 100 includes an antenna 101, adata processing unit 110, a transmission processing unit 120, a wirelessinterface unit 130, a control unit 140, a memory 150, an operationaccepting unit 160, and a display unit 170.

Under the control of the control unit 140, the data processing unit 110processes various kinds of data. When a transmitting operation isperformed, for example, the data processing unit 110 creates variouskinds of data frames and data packets in accordance with a request froma higher layer, and supplies the data frames and packets to thetransmission processing unit 120. When a receiving operation isperformed, for example, the data processing unit 110 processes andanalyzes various kinds of data frames and data packets supplied from thetransmission processing unit 120.

The data processing unit 110 also functions as an image data processingunit that performs signal processing to process image data to bedisplayed on the display unit 170 or image data to be displayed onanother wireless communication device. For example, the data processingunit 110 causes the display unit 170 to display an image via the controlunit 140. The data processing unit 110 can also cause the display unit170 to display an image without the intervention of the control unit140.

Under the control of the control unit 140, the transmission processingunit 120 performs various transmission processes. When a transmittingoperation is performed, for example, the transmission processing unit120 performs a process to add various data headers and error detectioncodes such as FCSs (Frame Check Sequences) to packets generated by thedata processing unit 110. The transmission processing unit 120 thensupplies the processed data to the wireless interface unit 130. When areceiving operation is performed, for example, the transmissionprocessing unit 120 analyzes the headers attached to various kinds ofdata frames supplied from the wireless interface unit 130. Afterconfirming that there are no errors in the data frames based on theerror detection codes, the transmission processing unit 120 supplies thevarious kinds of data frames to the data processing unit 110.

The wireless interface unit 130 is an interface that is connected to theother wireless communication devices to transmit/receive various kindsof information. When a transmitting operation is performed, for example,the wireless interface unit 130 generates a modulation signal of thefrequency band of carrier waves from data received from the transmissionprocessing unit 120, and transmits the generated modulation signal as aradio signal from the antenna 101. When a receiving operation isperformed, for example, the wireless interface unit 130 down-converts aradio signal received by the antenna 101 into a bit stream, to decodevarious kinds of data frames.

As described above, the data processing unit 110, the transmissionprocessing unit 120, and the wireless interface unit 130 function as acommunication unit 102. The communication unit 102 performs a connecteddevice discovery process before a wireless connection (a connection inthe second layer) is established. This connected device discoveryprocess is device discovery, for example. This device discovery isperformed by adding device information and information indicating anassociated specific application to a Probe Request or a Probe Responsespecified in the IEEE802.11 specification.

The communication unit 102 also performs an establishment process forestablishing a wireless connection (an establishment process forestablishing a connection in the second layer). In a case where theconnected device discovered through the connected device discoveryprocess is determined to be associated with a specific application, thecommunication unit 102 performs the establishment process bytransmitting/receiving data including the information element (shown inFIG. 7) for designating the specific application.

The control unit 140 controls respective receiving operations andtransmitting operations of the data processing unit 110, thetransmission processing unit 120, and the wireless interface unit 130.For example, the control unit 140 performs operations, such asdetermination on the frequency to be used, creation of control messages,and interpretations of transmission commands and control messages.Examples of control messages include notification information such asbeacons, received responses to beacons, Probe requests, and Proberesponses. The control to be performed by the control unit 140 will bedescribed later in detail, with reference to FIGS. 16 through 19.

The control unit 140 includes a protocol switching unit 141. Theprotocol switching unit 141 switches protocols in using inter-devicewireless communications. The control unit 140 also performs control totransmit image data displayed on the display unit 170 to anotherwireless communication device, by using the protocol switched by theprotocol switching unit 141. Meanwhile, the communication unit 102receives image data to be displayed on the display unit 140, by usingthe protocol switched by the protocol switching unit 141.

The memory 150 functions as a work area for the data processingperformed by the control unit 140, and as a storage medium storingvarious kinds of data. Also, various kinds of information (such as theinformation elements shown in FIGS. 10 through 12) to be included in thedata to be transmitted to the wireless communication device serving asthe peer are recorded in the memory 150. The peer list 180 shown in FIG.3 is also recorded in the memory 150. The memory 150 may be a storagemedium such as a nonvolatile memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk,or an MO (Magneto-optical) disk. The nonvolatile memory may be an EEPROM(Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) or an EPROM(Erasable Programmable ROM), for example. The magnetic disk may be ahard disk or a circular magnetic disk, for example. The optical disk maybe a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD-R (Digital Versatile Disc Recordable), ora BD (Blu-Ray Disc (a registered trade name)), for example.

The operation accepting unit 160 accepts an operation input from a user,and outputs operation information corresponding to the receivedoperation input to the control unit 140. The operation accepting unit160 may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, buttons, a microphone,switches, or a lever, for example. The operation accepting unit 160 alsoaccepts an operation for transmitting/receiving various kinds of datato/from other wireless communication devices.

The display unit 170 is a display unit that displays various kinds ofinformation (such as text information and time information) under thecontrol of the control unit 140. The display unit 170 displays variouskinds of information (such as the display screen shown in FIG. 4) fortransmitting/receiving various kinds of data to/from another wirelesscommunication device, for example. The display unit 170 also displaysimage data processed by the data processing unit 110. The display unit170 may be a display panel such as an organic EL (Electro Luminescence)panel or an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel. The operation acceptingunit 160 and the display unit 170 can be integrally formed with a touchpanel through which a user can input an operation by touching thedisplay surface with a finger or bringing a finger close to the displaysurface.

[Example Structure of the Peer List]

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example structure of a peerlist 180 stored in the memory 150 in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

The peer list 180 is formed with terminal identification information181, MAC (Media Access Control) addresses 182, terminal types 183, andspecific application association 184. These pieces of information areacquired from the respective wireless communication devices throughexecution of Device Discovery and the like, and are sequentiallyrecorded by the control unit 140.

The terminal identification information 181 is the identificationinformation (such as device specific IDs) for identifying the respectivewireless communication devices. In FIG. 3, the terminal identificationinformation is shown as “AAAA”, “BBBB”, and “CCCC”, and the names of thecorresponding wireless communication devices are shown in parentheses,for ease of explanation.

The MAC addresses 182 are physical addresses uniquely assigned to therespective wireless communication devices.

The terminal types 183 are the information indicating the types of therespective wireless communication devices.

The specific application association 184 is information indicatingwhether the respective wireless communication devices are associatedwith a specific application. In FIG. 3, the wireless communicationdevices associated with a specific application are accompanied by“associated”, and the names of the associated specific applications areshown in parentheses, for ease of explanation. The wirelesscommunication devices not associated with any specific application areaccompanied by “N/A”.

[Example Display Screen to be Used in the Case of a Wireless Connectionwith Another Wireless Communication Device]

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example display screen (a connectiondetail select screen 190) displayed on the display unit 170 of the firstwireless communication device 100 in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

The connection detail select screen 190 shows application-to-use selectbuttons 191 through 195, a cancel button 196, and an OK button 197.

The application-to-use select buttons 191 through 195 are buttons forselecting a wireless communication device to be the peer, and theapplication to be used in connecting to this wireless communicationdevice. The application-to-use select buttons 191 through 195 aredisplayed based on the details (such as the terminal identificationinformation 181 and the specific application association 184) in thepeer list 180 shown in FIG. 3, for example.

When the OK button 197 is pressed after one of the application-to-useselect buttons 191 through 195 is pressed, the control unit 140 performscontrol to execute the application corresponding to the pressed button.

To cancel an operation corresponding to one of the application-to-useselect buttons 191 through 195 after the one application-to-use selectbutton is pressed, the cancel button 196 is pressed.

[Example of a Basic Operation of a Wireless Communication Device onwhich the Present Technique is Based]

The following is a description of an example of a basic operation onwhich the present technique is based.

First, an example of wireless packet transmission/reception (FIGS. 5 and6) to be performed to establish a P2P (Peer to Peer) connection andoperate a specific application will be described below.

Next, an example of wireless packet transmission/reception (FIG. 8) tobe performed, prior to a connection in the second layer, to designate aspecific application to be used, establish a P2P connection, and operatea specific application will be described.

After that, an example of wireless packet transmission/reception (FIG.9) to be performed to start a specific application after establishmentof a connection in the second layer in a case where the exampleillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 is combined with the example illustrated inFIG. 8 will be described.

[Example Communication at a Start of Operation of a SpecificApplication]

FIGS. 5 and 6 are a sequence chart showing an example communicationprocess to be performed by each device on which the present technique isbased. Specifically, an example of procedures for establishing a directconnection that leads to a connection compliant with the Wi-Fi Directstandard (also called Wi-Fi P2P), which has been set by the Wi-FiAlliance, is described.

According to Wi-Fi Direct, wireless communication devices detect theexistence of one another (Device Discovery and Service Discovery).Devices to be connected are then selected, and a direct connection isestablished between the selected devices by performing deviceauthentication through WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). According to Wi-FiDirect, wireless communication devices form a communication group, withone of the wireless communication devices being determined to serve asthe group owner, some of the wireless communication devices beingdetermined to serve as clients.

In the example communication process illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6,however, part of packet transmission/reception is not shown. Forexample, at the time of the first connection, exchanges of the packetsfor using WPS are necessary, and transmission/reception of anAuthentication Request/Response also involves exchanges of packets.However, FIGS. 5 and 6 do not show such exchanges of packets, and doonly show the second and later connections.

Although FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example communication process to beperformed between the first wireless communication device 100 and thesecond wireless communication device 200, the same communication processcan be performed between other wireless communication devices.

First, Device Discovery is conducted between the first wirelesscommunication device 100 and the second wireless communication device200 (501). For example, the first wireless communication device 100transmits a Probe request (a response request signal), and receives aProbe response (a response signal) to the Probe request from the secondwireless communication device 200. With that, the first wirelesscommunication device 100 and the second wireless communication device200 can discover the existence of each other. Through the DeviceDiscovery, the device name and the type (TV, PC, smartphone, or thelike) of each other can be obtained.

Service Discovery is then conducted between the first wirelesscommunication device 100 and the second wireless communication device200 (502). For example, the first wireless communication device 100transmits Service Discovery Query so as to inquire about the servicewith which the second wireless communication device 200, which has beendiscovered through the Device Discovery, is associated. The firstwireless communication device 100 then receives Service DiscoveryResponse from the second wireless communication device 200, and obtainsthe service with which the second wireless communication device 200 isassociated. That is, the service and the like the other device canexecute can be obtained through the Service Discovery. The service theother device can execute may be a service or a protocol (such as DLNA(Digital Living Network Alliance) or DMR (Digital Media Renderer)), forexample.

A user then performs an operation to select the peer (a peer selectoperation) (503). This peer select operation is performed in only one ofthe first wireless communication device 100 and the second wirelesscommunication device 200 in some cases. For example, a peer selectscreen is displayed on the display unit 170 of the first wirelesscommunication device 100, and the second wireless communication device200 is selected as the peer on the peer select screen through a useroperation.

After the peer select operation is performed by the user (503), GroupOwner Negotiation is conducted between the first wireless communicationdevice 100 and the second wireless communication device 200 (504). Inthe example illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, as a result of the Group OwnerNegotiation, the first wireless communication device 100 becomes a groupowner 505, and the second wireless communication device 200 becomes aclient 506.

Respective procedures (507 through 510) are then carried out between thefirst wireless communication device 100 and the second wirelesscommunication device 200, to establish a direct connection.Specifically, Association (L2 (second layer) link establishment) (507)and Secure link establishment (508) are sequentially conducted. Also, IPAddress Assignment (509) and L4 setup in L3 by SSDP (Simple ServiceDiscovery Protocol) or the like (510) are sequentially conducted. Itshould be noted that L2 (layer 2) means the second layer (data linklayer), L3 (layer 3) means the third layer (network layer), and L4(layer 4) means the fourth layer (transport layer).

The user then performs a specific application designating or startingoperation (an application designating/starting operation) (511). Thisapplication designating/starting operation is performed in only one ofthe first wireless communication device 100 and the second wirelesscommunication device 200 in some cases. For example, an applicationdesignating/starting operation screen (the connection detail selectscreen 190 shown in FIG. 4, for example) is displayed on the displayunit 170 of the first wireless communication device 100, and a specificapplication is selected on this application designating/startingoperation screen through a user operation.

After the user performs the application designating/starting operation(511), the specific application corresponding to this applicationdesignating/starting operation is executed between the first wirelesscommunication device 100 and the second wireless communication device200 (512).

In an example case, a connection between an AP (Access Point) and a STA(Station) is established within an older specification than the Wi-FiDirect standard (a specification standardized by IEEE802.11). In thiscase, there is no way to recognize to which device a connection is to beestablished prior to a connection in the second layer (prior toassociation as specified in IEEE802.11).

According to Wi-Fi Direct, on the other hand, information about a peercan be obtained when candidate peers are searched in Device Discoveryand Service Discovery (option), as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Theinformation about a peer is the type of the fundamental device, theassociated specific application, or the like. The user can select a peerbased on the obtained information about the peer.

This mechanism can be extended to realize a wireless communicationsystem that designates a specific application and selects a peer priorto establishment of a connection in the second layer, and causes thespecific application to automatically start after the selection. Anexample of a sequence to establish a connection in such a case is shownin FIG. 8. An example structure of the format of a frame to betransmitted/received in this communication process is shown in FIG. 7.

[Example Structure of a Frame Format]

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an example structure of theformat of a frame to be transmitted/received in a communication processby each device on which the present technique is based. That is, FIG. 7shows an example structure of a MAC frame for establishing a connectionin the second layer. Specifically, the frame format is an example of theframe format of an Association Request/Response (527) for realizing thesequence shown in FIG. 8.

It should be noted that the MAC header is formed with Frame Control(601) through Sequence Control (606). When Association Request istransmitted, B3B2=“0b00” and B7B6B5B4=“0b0000” are set in Frame Control(601). When Association Response is encapsulated, B3B2=“0b00” andB7B6B5B4=“0b0001” are set in Frame Control (601). Here, “0b00” means“00” in binary, “0b0000” means “0000” in binary, and “0b0001” means“0001” in binary.

The MAC frame shown in FIG. 7 basically has the AssociationRequest/Response frame format specified in sections 7.2.3.4 and 7.2.3.5in the IEEE802.11-2007 specification. However, the MAC frame includesnot only an Information Element (hereinafter referred to simply as IE)defined in the IEEE802.11 specification but also a uniquely-extended IE.

To indicate Vendor Specific IE (610), “127” is set as a decimal numberin IE Type (Information Element ID (611)). In this case, according tosection 7.3.2.26 in the IEEE802.11-2007 specification, a Length field(612) and an OUI field (613) come after Information Element ID (611),followed by vendor specific content (614).

In the vendor specific content (614), a field indicating the type of thevendor specific IE (IE type (615)) is first set. Subelements (616) cancome after IE Type (615).

Subelements (616) may include the name of the specific application to beused (617) and the role of the device during operation of the specificapplication (618). Subelements (616) may also include information aboutthe specific application or information such as the port number to beused for controlling the specific application (information for L4 setup)(619), and information about the capabilities in the specificapplication (Capability information). Here, the Capability informationis the information for detecting compatibility with audiotransmission/reproduction, compatibility with videotransmission/reproduction, and the like when the designated specificapplication is DLNA, for example.

[Example Communication at a Start of Operation of a SpecificApplication]

FIG. 8 is a sequence chart showing an example communication process tobe performed by each device on which the present technique is based.FIG. 8 illustrates an example communication process to be performed todesignate a specific application and select a peer prior toestablishment of a connection in the second layer, and cause thespecific application to automatically start after the selection. Thesequence chart shown in FIG. 8 is a modification formed by partiallymodifying the sequence chart shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and therefore,explanation of the same aspects as those in FIGS. 5 and 6 will not bemade below.

First, Device Discovery is conducted between the first wirelesscommunication device 100 and the second wireless communication device200 (521).

Here, the Probe request (the response request signal)/Probe response(the response signal) used in the stage of device discovery can includethe vendor specific IE (610) shown in FIG. 7. Accordingly, theassociation with a specific application and the capability informationindicating the role the device can play during operation of the specificapplication can be acquired in the stage of Device Discovery. Here, therole the device can play during operation of the specific application isthe role of a server/client, a master/slave, a source/sink, or the like.

Service Discovery is then conducted between the first wirelesscommunication device 100 and the second wireless communication device200 (522).

Here, detailed capability information about the specific application(such as information about the details of the associated media format inthe case of DLNA) can be included in the stage of Service Discovery.Accordingly, the detailed capability information in the specificapplication can be acquired.

The respective procedures (523 and 524) shown in FIG. 8 are equivalentto the respective procedures 503 and 504 shown in FIG. 5.

Respective procedures (527 through 529) are then carried out between thefirst wireless communication device 100 and the second wirelesscommunication device 200, to establish a direct connection.

Here, the frame (MAC frame) shown in FIG. 7 is transmitted/received asan Association Request/Response in the stage of Association (527).Accordingly, the specific application to be used after establishment ofa connection in the second layer can be designated in the stage (527) ofan exchange of packets (Association Request/Response) for establishingthe connection in the second layer. Also, the information necessary inusing the specific application can be included in the stage (527).

As described above, in the example illustrated in FIG. 8, a differentinformation exchange from that in the example illustrated in FIGS. 5 and6 is performed in the stages of device discovery (521) and ServiceDiscovery (522). With this difference, the user can implicitly designatethe specific application to be used after establishment of a connectionin the second layer by selecting a device prior to the connection in thesecond layer.

Also, with the difference in the stage (527) of the exchange of a packetfor establishing the connection in the second layer from the exampleillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the application to be used can beautomatically determined, and the number of steps to be taken by theuser can be reduced by one.

Further, compared with the example illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, thestage (510) of L4 setup in L3 by SSDP or the like can be skipped.Accordingly, the user can feel that the time until the application startis shortened.

An example case where a specific application is started by using themechanism illustrated in FIG. 8 after establishment of a connection inthe second layer is now described. In this case, the mechanismillustrated in FIG. 8 implicitly designates the specific application tobe used in the vendor specific IE (610 shown in FIG. 7) included in theAssociation Request/Response. The information necessary for operatingthe specific application is also included in the vendor specific IE(610). As a result, a problem arises in the case where the specificapplication is started by using the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 8after establishment of a connection in the second layer. This example isillustrated in FIG. 9.

[Example Communication at a Start of Operation of a SpecificApplication]

FIG. 9 is a sequence chart showing an example communication process tobe performed by each device on which the present technique is based.FIG. 9 illustrates an example communication process to be performed in acase where a specific application is started by using the mechanismillustrated in FIG. 8 after establishment of a connection in the secondlayer.

The sequence chart shown in FIG. 9 is an example formed by combining thesequence chart shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 with the sequence chart shown inFIG. 8, and therefore, explanation of the same aspects as those in FIGS.5, 6, and 8 will not be made below. Specifically, in the communicationprocess indicated by a rectangle 541, the respective procedures (501through 512) shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are carried out. In the processindicate by a rectangle 543, the respective procedures (521 through 531)shown in FIG. 8 are carried out.

An example case where a specific application is started after aconnection in the second layer is established, and another applicationis operated (541), as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, is now described. In thiscase, a process to temporarily cut off the L2 (second layer) link isperformed by an exchange of Disassociation Request/Response (542), and are-connection is established (543) by using the procedures shown in FIG.8.

As described above, when a specific application is started, DeviceDiscovery, a second-layer connection process, a secure linkestablishment process, an IP address assignment process, and the likeare again performed. Therefore, collisions due to use of a resource in awireless zone increase, and the waiting time of the user increases withthe time required for those processes.

So as to avoid second-layer link cutoff, a protocol in L3/L4 such as SDPmay be used in switching to a specific application as in a case whereanother application is started, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example.

In this case, however, the protocol not required in operating thespecific application has to be supported, as shown in FIG. 8. Further,an application connection request is issued from a different layer inthis case. Therefore, implementation of the application trigger portionmight become complicated. For example, when a specific application isoperated by the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 8, a trigger for thespecific application is issued from the second layer. When a specificapplication is started by reusing the existing L2 (second layer) link,on the other hand, a protocol of L3/L4 such as SDP is used. When aprotocol of L3/L4 such as SDP is used, a trigger for a specificapplication is issued from L3/L4, and an connection management entityshould be prepared for more than one layer. As a result, implementationmight become complicated.

In view of this, the first embodiment of the present technique suggestsan example where a specific application can be readily used even afterestablishment of a connection in the second layer.

[Example Structure of a Frame Format]

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing an example structure of theformat of a frame to be transmitted/received in a communication processbetween respective devices in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique. That is, FIG. 10 shows an example structure of an actionframe that triggers a start of a specific application (a specificapplication start) after establishment of a connection in the secondlayer. Specifically, an example structure of a vendor specific actionframe at the MAC layer level is shown.

Here, a vendor specific action frame is an action frame containing thevendor specific IE.

When a packet exchange is performed to start a specific application,necessary information can be exchanged by using the action frame definedin the IEEE802.11-2007 specification.

It should be noted that the MAC header is formed with Frame Control(631) through Sequence Control (636). In Frame Control (631) in the MACheader, B3B2=“0b00” and B7B6B5B4=“0b1101” are set. With this setting,this frame can be presented as an action frame classified as amanagement frame.

Also, “127” is set as a decimal number in the Category field (639) inthe frame body (637), to indicate that this action frame is a vendorspecific frame. In this case, according to section 7.4.5 in theIEEE802.11-2007 specification, an OUI field (640) and a Vendor SpecificContent field (641) come after the Category field (639).

Various kinds of information are set in the vendor specific contentfield (641), so that the operation sequence shown in FIG. 16 can berealized. Here, the various kinds of information include the name of thespecific application to be used, the role of the device during operationof the specific application, and the like. The various kinds ofinformation also include information about the specific application orinformation such as a port number to be used for controlling thespecific application (information for L4 setup), and the Capabilityinformation in the specific application, for example.

While there may be various methods for implementing the Vendor SpecificContent field (641), the following two example structures (shown inFIGS. 11 and 12) are used in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

[Example Structure of a Frame Format]

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing an example structure of theformat of a frame to be transmitted/received in a communication processbetween respective devices in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique. Specifically, FIG. 11 shows an example case where a vendorspecific Information Element is used as the Vendor Specific Content ofthe vendor specific action frame shown in FIG. 10. In short, FIG. 11shows a configuration method using an information element (IE).

Here, the Vendor Specific Content is preferably divided into more thanone portion, so as to indicate for what purpose the vendor specificaction frame is to be used. For example, the Vendor Specific Content ispreferably divided into the portion of vendor specific content type(652) and an information element storage portion (653) that follows.That is, the vendor specific content type (652) can indicate for whatpurpose the vendor specific action frame is to be used. In this manner,the type information portion (652) and the information element portion(653) are formed in the action frame (vendor specific action frame).

In the first embodiment of the present technique, the type of each frameis supposedly written in the vendor specific content type (652). Thetype may be the type of a request frame for indicating to the peer aspecific application start or the type of a response frame forresponding to the indication, while there is a P2P L2 (second layer)link, for example.

In the information element storage portion (653), a Length field (655)and an OUI filed (656) follow, as specified in section 7.3.2.26 in theIEEE802.11-2007 specification. Vendor specific content (657) comes afterthe OUI field (656).

The vendor specific content (657) is divided into an information elementtype (658) and subelements (659) that constitute the informationelement. The subelements portion (659) is further divided intosubelements (660 through 663).

The type portion (658) contains information indicating that theinformation element is for starting a specific application, and thesubelements portion (659) contains various kinds of information. Thevarious kinds of information in the subelements portion (659) includethe name of the specific application to be used (660) and the role ofthe device during operation of the specific application (661). Thevarious kinds of information also include information about the specificapplication or information such as a port number to be used forcontrolling the specific application (information for L4 setup) (662),and the Capability information (663) in the specific application. TheCapability information is the information indicating compatibility withaudio transmission/reproduction, compatibility with videotransmission/reproduction, and the like when the designated specificapplication is DLNA, for example. The various kinds of informationcontained in the subelements portion (659) will be described later indetail, with reference to FIG. 13.

Other than the above, the specific application to be started may bedesignated in accordance with the type of information element in someclassification process, for example. In this case, the subelement thatdesignates the type of the specific application and triggers a start isunnecessary.

For example, the transmitting side (such as the first wirelesscommunication device 100) transmits an action frame that includes suchan information element and requests a start of a specific application tothe receiving side (such as the second wireless communication device200). Upon receipt of the action frame, the receiving side returns anaction frame as a response including the corresponding informationelement (a response to the action frame requesting a start of a specificapplication). By transmitting/receiving an action frame in this manner,the intentions of the transmitting side and the receiving side can bematched, and a specific application can be automatically started at bothsides. Accordingly, operation of a specific application can be startedbased on the control information in the L2 (second layer) link.

Here, a role can be designated in a subelement in the informationelement in the response action frame to be returned. In a case where therole of the peer is designated as “server” in the request, the role of aclient is preferably designated accordingly in a subelement in theinformation element in the response action frame to be returned.

By another implementation method, a predetermined portion may beencapsulated as the vendor specific content (641) shown in FIG. 10. Thepredetermined portion to be encapsulated and transmitted is the framebody portion of an association request frame or an association responseframe containing a specific information element. An example structure ofthe frame format according to this implementation method is shown inFIG. 12.

[Example Structure of a Frame Format]

FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing an example structure of theformat of a frame to be transmitted/received in a communication processbetween respective devices in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique. Specifically, FIG. 12 shows an example case where associationis used as the Vendor Specific Content of the vendor specific actionframe shown in FIG. 10.

Here, the Vendor Specific Content is preferably divided into more thanone portion, so as to indicate for what purpose the vendor specificaction frame is to be used, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 11.For example, the Vendor Specific Content is preferably divided into theportion of vendor specific content type (672) and an information elementstorage portion (673) encapsulating the frame that follows. That is, thevendor specific content type (672) can indicate for what purpose thevendor specific action frame is to be used.

In the first embodiment of the present technique, the type of each frameis supposedly written in the vendor specific content type (672). Thetype may be the type of an action frame formed by encapsulating anassociation request frame for indicating to the peer a specificapplication start, while there is a P2P L2 (second layer) link, forexample. Alternatively, the type may be the type of an action frameformed by encapsulating an association response frame for responding tothe association request frame.

The information element storage portion (673) that encapsulates a framestores the body portion (675) of an association request frame or anassociation response frame for responding to the association requestframe.

The format of the body portion (675) of an association request frame oran association response frame to be encapsulated has the same structureas the frame body shown in FIG. 7. The format of the body portion (675)is equivalent to that shown in FIG. 11, and the information element forstarting a specific application in the body portion (675) is alsoequivalent to that shown in FIG. 11. Therefore, detailed explanation ofthem is not repeated herein.

As described above, an association request frame to which theinformation element for starting a specific application is added isencapsulated into an action frame, and are then transmitted to the peer.With that, a request to start a specific application can be transmittedto the peer, while an existing L2 (second layer) link is maintained.Upon receipt of the request, the peer can encapsulate an associationresponse frame to which the information element for starting thespecific application is added into an action frame, and return aresponse. With that, the intentions of the transmitting side and thereceiving side can be matched, and a specific application can beautomatically started at both sides. Accordingly, operation of aspecific application can be started based on the control information inan existing L2 (second layer) link.

[Example Information Recorded in the Subelements]

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the information element to betransmitted/received in a communication process between respectivecommunication devices in the first embodiment of the present technique.This information element is the subelements portion (659) shown in FIG.11, or the subelements portion (681) shown in FIG. 12.

In FIG. 13, an application (such as DLNA) using Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracastand P2P is shown as an example application, and respective informationelements are classified into application types 686. It should be notedthat Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast is a mirroring technique of transmittingsound and display video data reproduced in one terminal to the otherterminal, and causing the other terminal to output the sound and videodata likewise, using a technique such as Wi-Fi Direct or TDLS. Anexample of an image displayed by Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast will bedescribed later in detail, with reference to FIG. 15.

The names of associated applications (specific applications) are storedinto Application to be triggered (687). For example, a case where theapplication type 686 is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast is now described. Inthis case, the information to be stored in Application to be triggered(687) can be designated in IE Type (658) shown in FIG. 11. Accordingly,storing information into Application to be triggered (687) can beskipped. In a case where the application type 686 is an application thatuses P2P, a level such as “application that uses P2P” can be designatedin IE Type (658) shown in FIG. 11. Therefore, in a case where theapplication type 686 is an application that uses P2P, the name of anassociated application (specific application) is stored into Applicationto be triggered (687).

Meanwhile, information about the role of the first wirelesscommunication device 100 is stored into Device Role in this application(688). In a case where the application type 686 is Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDMiracast, for example, information indicating whether the role of thefirst wireless communication device 100 is Source or is Sink is stored.That is, information about Source or Sink compliant with the Wi-FiDisplay specification is stored as the information about the role of thefirst wireless communication device 100. Source and Sink will bedescribed later in detail, with reference to FIG. 14. An example casewhere the application type 686 is an application that uses P2P is alsodescribed. In this case, information indicating whether the role of thefirst wireless communication device 100 is DMC (Digital MediaController) or is DMR (Digital Media Renderer) is stored.

Information about the fourth layer (information about a L4 link) isstored in L4 setup information (689). In a case where the applicationtype 686 is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast, for example, information aboutRTSP specified in the Wi-Fi Display specification is stored. Also, in acase where the application type 686 is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast, forexample, information about the port number used in RTSP is stored. Atleast one piece of the information about RTSP and the information aboutthe port number may be stored. In a case where the application type 686is an application that uses P2P, for example, information about thecontrol protocol compatible with this application is stored. Also, in acase where the application type 686 is an application that uses P2P, forexample, information about the port number used in the control protocolcompatible with this application is stored. At least one piece of theinformation about the control protocol and the information about theport number may be stored.

Capability information is stored into Application Capabilities (690). Ina case where the application type 686 is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast, forexample, content protection compatibility information is stored. Thiscontent protection compatibility information is information about theexistence or non-existence of compatibility with content protectioncompliant with the Wi-Fi Display specification, for example. In a casewhere the application type 686 is an application that uses P2P, forexample, information about the existence or non-existence ofcompatibility with video data and the existence or non-existence ofcompatibility with audio data is stored.

Next, the role of a wireless communication device in a case wherewireless communications are performed by WFD (Wi-Fi Display) isdescribed. Specifically, WFD Source and WFD Sink are now described indetail.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing example WFD sessions to be conducted bywireless communication devices in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

In FIG. 14, “a” shows an example WFD session to be conducted in a casewhere only audio communications are performed. In FIG. 14, “b” shows anexample WFD session to be conducted in a case where only videocommunications are performed. In FIG. 14, “c” shows an example WFDsession to be conducted in a case where audio and video communicationsare performed. In FIG. 14, “d” shows an example WFD session to beconducted in a case where communications with coupled Sinks areperformed.

In a WFD session, the wireless communication device playing the role ofa transmitter is called WFD Source. For example, the wirelesscommunication devices (WFD Sources 701 through 704) shown on the leftside in “a” through “d” in FIG. 14 are equivalent to WFD Sources.

In a WFD session, the wireless communication device playing the role ofa receiver is called WFD Sink. For example, the wireless communicationdevices (Secondary Sink or Primary Sink 705, Primary Sinks 706 through708, and Secondary Sink 709) shown on the right sides in “a” through “d”in FIG. 14 are equivalent to WFD Sinks.

As shown in “a” through “d” in FIG. 14, WFD Sources 701 through 704transmit content data (video data and audio data) to WFD Sinks.

Here, WFD Sinks are classified into the two types: Primary Sinks andSecondary Sinks. Specifically, as shown in “a” through “d” in FIG. 14,Primary Sinks are WFD Sinks that are compatible with video content only,audio content only, or video and audio content.

As shown in “a” and “d” in FIG. 14, Secondary Sinks are WFD Sinks thatare compatible with audio content only.

Information about the roles of these wireless communication devices(information indicating whether the role of each wireless communicationdevice is Source or is Sink) is stored into Device Role in thisapplication (688) shown in FIG. 13.

[Example Display of Image Data]

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example display in a case where awireless communication of image data is performed by Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDMiracast in the communication system 10 in the first embodiment of thepresent technique. FIG. 15 shows an example case where a wirelesscommunication of image data is performed between a first informationprocessing device 100 and a second information processing device 200, todisplay the same moving image on the display units of both devices.

For example, the first information processing device 100 transmits imagedata for displaying the same moving image as the moving image displayedon the display unit 170 to the second information processing device 200.For example, in FIG. 15, a moving image of a horse running on a beach isdisplayed on the display unit 170 of the first information processingdevice 100. In this case, the control unit 140 of the first informationprocessing device 100 performs control to transmit image data fordisplaying the same moving image as the moving image (of a horse runningon a beach) displayed on the display unit 170 to the second informationprocessing device 200. Here, image data accompanied by audio data may betransmitted.

The control unit of the second information processing device 200 causesthe display unit 201 to display a moving image (of a horse running on abeach) based on the image data transmitted from the first informationprocessing device 100. If the image data is accompanied by audio data,the control unit of the second information processing device 200 outputssound based on the audio data transmitted from the first informationprocessing device 100 through an audio output unit (not shown).

The first information processing device 100 might include an imagingunit for generating a moving image. In that case, the first informationprocessing device 100 can cause the display unit 170 to display themoving image generated by the imaging unit, and transmit image data fordisplaying the same moving image as the moving image to the secondinformation processing device 200, to cause the display unit 201 todisplay the same moving image.

[Example Communication at a Start of Operation of a SpecificApplication]

FIG. 16 is a sequence chart showing an example communication process tobe performed by each device in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique. FIG. 16 illustrates an example communication process to beperformed in a case where a specific application is started afterestablishment of a connection in the second layer.

The sequence chart shown in FIG. 16 is a modification formed bypartially modifying the sequence chart shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, andtherefore, explanation of the same aspects as those in FIGS. 5 and 6will not be made below. Specifically, in the communication processindicated by a rectangle 551, the respective procedures (501 through512) shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are carried out.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, another application is executedafter a L2 (second layer) link is established (551). After a L2 (secondlayer) link is established as above, a specific application is startedby a packet exchange for a specific application start (552). In thispacket exchange for a specific application start, each frame (actionframe) shown in FIGS. 10 through 12) is transmitted/received. After thepacket exchange for a specific application start, the actual data of thespecific application can be transmitted (553).

Compared with the example illustrated in FIG. 9, the respectiveprocedures such as the temporary L2 (second layer) link cutoff (542) canbe skipped. The procedures that can be skipped are the second Devicediscovery and the second Service Discovery (optional), for example.Also, the procedures that can be skipped are the second Group OwnerNegotiation, the second Association, the second secure linkestablishment, and the second IP address assignment, for example. As theprocedures such as the temporal L2 (second layer) link cutoff (542) canbe skipped, the next specific application can be started in a shortperiod of time.

Here, there might be a case where a necessary information exchange isnot performed in the first device discovery (equivalent to 501 shown inFIG. 5) included in the packet exchange (501 through 512) portion shownin FIG. 16. In this case, it might not be possible to determine whetherthe peer is compatible with exchanges of vendor specific action frames.In this case, information indicating that received frames are not to berecognized can be transmitted to notify that the peer is not compatiblewith vendor specific action frames, for example. As specified in section7.3.1.11 of the IEEE802.11-2007 specification, for example, “128”through “255” are designated in the category field in an action frame,and a received information element is added to the response to bereturned. In this manner, a notification that the receiving side is notcompatible with vendor specific action frames can be transmitted.

Also, there might be a case where the receiving side can interpret thecontents of a vendor specific action frame, but is not designed to starta designated specific application. In this case, a notification that thereceiving side is not compatible can be transmitted by returning aresponse using an error code defined as a vendor specific informationelement.

Example cases where action frames are used within the scope of theIEEE802.11-2007 specification have been described in the firstembodiment of the present technique. Here, GAS (generic advertisementservice) Public Action frames defined in the IEEE802.11u specificationmight be used. In this case, however, frames are not encrypted.Therefore, in cases where information is exchanged between wirelesscommunication devices while a L2 (second layer) link is alreadyestablished and a secure link is also established, it is preferable touse action frames.

Also, in the stage of a packet exchange for establishing a second-layerconnection, transmission/reception of a packet that contains aninformation element including information other than necessaryinformation might be performed, as well as designation of the specificapplication to be used after the second-layer connection, and additionof the information necessary in using the specific application. Forexample, a packet that contains an information element includinginformation indicating whether to start the specific application mightbe transmitted/received. In this case, a second-layer connection mightbe established with the use of a packet containing an informationelement including information indicating that the specific applicationis not to be started. In this case, the specific application can bestarted after the connection establishment, while the second-layerconnection is maintained with the use of a packet that contains aninformation element including information indicating that the specificapplication is to be started in the same information element.Accordingly, the first embodiment of the present technique can also beapplied in such a case.

[Example Operation of a Wireless Communication Device]

FIGS. 17 through 19 show a flowchart of the procedures in an examplecommunication process to be performed by the first wirelesscommunication device 100 in the first embodiment of the presenttechnique.

First, the correspondence relationship between the procedures shown inFIGS. 17 through 19 and the respective procedures shown in FIGS. 5, 6,8, and 9 is described.

Steps S901 through S905 correspond to 521 and 522 shown in FIG. 8. StepsS906 through S909 correspond to 523 shown in FIG. 8. Step S910corresponds to 524 shown in FIG. 8. Steps S911 through S915 correspondto 527 and 531 shown in FIG. 8.

Step S919 corresponds to 504 shown in FIG. 5. Steps S920 through S926correspond to 507 through 512 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

Steps S927 through S933 and step S914 correspond to 552 shown in FIG.16. Step S915 corresponds to 553 shown in FIG. 16.

First, the control unit 140 conducts Device Discovery (step S901). Thecontrol unit 140 then determines whether an IE indicating specificapplication association (equivalent to 610 shown in FIG. 7) is includedin information from the peer device discovered through the DeviceDiscovery (step S902). The information from the peer device is a DeviceDiscovery request or a Device Discovery response. In a case where an IEindicating specific application association is included (step S902), thecontrol unit 140 records the discovered device as a peer associated witha specific application on a list (such as the peer list 180 shown inFIG. 3) (step S903). In a case where any IE indicating specificapplication association is not included (step S902), the control unit140 records the discovered device as a peer unassociated with anyspecific application on the list (such as the peer list 180 shown inFIG. 3) (step S904). In a case where an IE indicating specificapplication association is included, for example, “associated” isrecorded in the specific application association 184 in the peer list180 shown in FIG. 3. In a case where any IE indicating specificapplication association is not included, “N/A” is recorded in thespecific application association 184.

The control unit 140 then determines whether all the peer devicesdiscovered through the Device Discovery have been recorded on the list(step S905). In a case where not all the peer devices have beenrecorded, the control unit 140 returns to step S902. In a case where allthe peer devices have been recorded on the list (step S905), the controlunit 140 determines whether a peer designating operation has beenperformed by the user (step S906).

In a case where any peer designating operation has not been performed bythe user (step S906), the control unit 140 determines whether aconnection request has been received from a peer device (step S907). Ina case where any connection request has not been received from any peerdevice (step S907), the control unit 140 stands by (step S908), andreturns to step S901. In a case where a connection request has beenreceived from a peer device (step S907), the control unit 140 moves onto step S909.

In a case where a peer designating operation has been performed by theuser (step S906) or where a connection request has been received from apeer device (step S907), the control unit 140 determines whether aspecific application has been designated thereby (step S909). Forexample, on the connection detail select screen 190 shown in FIG. 4, theuser performs a peer designating operation or a specific applicationdesignating operation. Also, a check is made to determine whether aspecific application has been designated based on the informationcontained in the connection request received from the peer device.

In a case where a specific application has been designated (step S909),the control unit 140 adds the specific application association IE, andconducts Group Owner Negotiation (step S910). Through the Group OwnerNegotiation, the first wireless communication device 100 becomes a GO(Group Owner) or a client.

The control unit 140 then adds the specific application association IE,conducts Association, and establishes a connection in the second layer(step S911). The control unit 140 then conducts Secure linkestablishment (step S912) and IP Address Assignment (step S913).

The control unit 140 then causes the specific application toautomatically start in accordance with the information in the specificapplication association IE (step S914), and executes the specificapplication (step S915). The control unit 140 then determines whether asecond-layer cutoff request has been received from the user or the peer(step S916). In a case where any second-layer cutoff request has notbeen received, the monitoring is continued. In a case where asecond-layer cutoff request has been received (step S916), on the otherhand, the control unit 140 performs a specific application end process(step S917), performs a second-layer cutoff process (step S918), andends the communication process.

In a case where any specific application has not been designated (stepS909), the control unit 140 conducts Group Owner Negotiation withoutaddition of the specific application association IE (step S919). Throughthe Group Owner Negotiation, the first wireless communication device 100becomes a GO (Group Owner) or a client.

The control unit 140 then conducts Association and establishes aconnection in the second layer without addition of the specificapplication association IE (step S920). The control unit 140 thenconducts Secure link establishment (step S921) and IP Address Assignment(step S922).

The control unit 140 then checks associated applications by SSDP, andconducts L4 setup (step S923). The control unit 140 then determineswhether an application start instruction has been received from the useror the peer (step S924). In a case where any application startinstruction has not been received, the monitoring is continued. In acase where an application start instruction has been received (stepS924), on the other hand, the control unit 140 starts an application inaccordance with the application start instruction (step S925), andexecutes the application (step S926).

The control unit 140 then determines whether a specific applicationstart instruction has been received from the user (step S927). In a casewhere a specific application start instruction has been received, thecontrol unit 140 suspends the application being currently executed (stepS928). The control unit 140 then transmits the Vendor Specific Actionframe of an application start trigger request including the specificapplication association IE to the peer (step S929). The control unit 140then receives the Vendor Specific Action frame of an application starttrigger response including the specific application association IE fromthe peer (step S930).

In a case where the specific application here is Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDMiracast, a user operation for starting a wireless communication ofimage data, for example, is accepted as a specific application startinstruction (step S927). For example, a user operation (such as a touchoperation on a touch panel or a pressing operation using an operationaltool) for starting a wireless communication of the image data shown inFIG. 15 is accepted by the operation accepting unit 160 (step S927). Inthis case, the control unit 140 transmits a Vendor Specific Action frameto the peer based on the timing of acceptance of the user operation (theuser operation for starting the wireless communication of the imagedata) (step S929).

Here, the Vendor Specific Action frame is the Action frame shown inFIGS. 10 through 12, and contains the vendor specific IE (the specificapplication association IE).

The control unit 140 then causes the specific application toautomatically start in accordance with the information in the specificapplication association IE (step S914), and executes the specificapplication (step S915).

In a case where any specific application start instruction has not beenreceived (step S927), the control unit 140 determines whether the VendorSpecific Action frame of an application start trigger request containingthe specific application association IE has been received (step S931).In a case where the Action frame has been received (step S931), thecontrol unit 140 transmits the Vendor Specific Action frame of anapplication start trigger response including the specific applicationassociation IE to the peer (step S932). The control unit 140 thensuspends the application being executed (step S933), and moves on tostep S914.

In a case where the specific application here is Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDMiracast, a user operation for starting a wireless communication ofimage data, for example, is accepted as a specific application startinstruction by the peer. For example, a user operation for starting awireless communication of the image data shown in FIG. 15 is accepted bythe peer. In this case, the communication unit 102 receives a VendorSpecific Action frame from the peer based on the timing of acceptance ofthe user operation (the user operation for starting the wirelesscommunication of the image data) (step S931).

In a case where the Action frame has not been received (step S931), thecontrol unit 140 determines whether a second-layer cutoff request hasbeen received from the user or the peer (step S934). In a case where anysecond-layer cutoff request has not been received (step S934), thecontrol unit 140 returns to step S927, and continues the monitoring. Ina case where a second-layer cutoff request has been received (stepS934), on the other hand, the control unit 140 performs an applicationend process (step S935), performs a second-layer cutoff process (stepS936), and ends the communication process.

The suspension process (steps S928 and S933) for suspending anapplication being executed is now described. An example case where theapplication being operated (a first application) is DLNA, and theapplication (a second application) to be made to start during operationof the first application is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast is describedherein. That is, the second application is an example of a specificapplication to be started by transmission/reception of an action framerequest/response.

In a case where the application being operated is suspended, onewireless communication device (the first wireless communication device100 or the peer) transmits a FIN packet (finish packet) to the otherwireless communication device, for example. A FIN packet can betransmitted in TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) used as HTTP(HyperText Transfer Protocol) of DLNA, for example. The wirelesscommunication device that has transmitted a request frame might transmita FIN packet, for example. The wireless communication device that hasreceived the FIN packet returns an ACK packet (ACKnowledgement packet)to the peer (the wireless communication device that has transmitted theFIN packet).

The wireless communication device that has transmitted the ACK packetthen transmits a FIN packet to the peer (the wireless communicationdevice to which the ACK packet has been transmitted). The wirelesscommunication device that has received the FIN packet (the wirelesscommunication device that has transmitted the first FIN packet) returnsan ACK packet to the peer (the wireless communication device that hastransmitted the next FIN packet in response to the first FIN packet).

Through these exchanges, a process of closing the TCP port used by DLNAis performed, and the resource is released.

An example case where RTSP for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast is started whendata transmission by DLNA has not been finished (or while a FIN packetand an ACK packet are being exchanged) is not described. In this case,data received by the peer is not handed on to an application but issimply discarded. Therefore, RTSP for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast may bestarted before the second exchange of a FIN packet and an ACK packet isfinished between the wireless communication devices.

Alternatively, RTSP for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast may be started afterthe second exchange of a FIN packet and an ACK packet is finishedbetween the wireless communication devices. In such a case, however, thetime required for the suspension process (end process) is undetermined,and therefore, there is a possibility that a timeout occurs at a startof RTSP. In view of this, it is preferable to set an appropriate timingto start RTSP for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast.

In the process to suspend the application being operated, the TCP portof UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) may be left open, or may betemporarily closed. UPnP is used from device discovery to capabilityconfirmation of DLNA, for example.

In this example, operation of the first application is ended based onthe timing to start operation of the second application. However, thefirst application being operated may also be ended after the secondapplication is established and an exchange of content data is started.

After the start of operation of the second application, the operation ofthe first application may not be ended but be continued, and thetransmission/reception of data about the first application (the volumeof communication) may be reduced. For example, thetransmission/reception of the data about the first application can bereduced based on the timing to start the operation of the secondapplication. In this case, a connection to the peer is maintained tosuch a degree that the wireless communication devices are notdisconnected from each other. For example, while transmission/receptionof video data and audio data is not performed, only an exchange ofinformation may be performed to keep the connection alive so that thefirst application will not cause a timeout. That is, to reduce thetransmission/reception of the data about the first application, theoperation state of the first application (such as the state of theexchange of the keep-alive information) is regularly or irregularlychecked. If there is no response from the peer as a result of the check,the first application may be ended.

In the above described example, the first application is DLNA, and thesecond application is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast. However, the aboveexample can be applied in cases where the first application is someother application (such as an application for transferring a file,copying a file, or the like).

Steps S901 through S926 are an example of the first procedure disclosedin the claim. Steps S929 through S932 are an example of the secondprocedure disclosed in the claim.

As described above, under the control of the control unit 140, thecommunication unit 102 performs respective reception processes andrespective transmission processes. For example, the communication unit102 performs an inter-device wireless communication with anotherwireless communication device in accordance with the Wi-Fi Directspecification. Also, the communication unit 102 transmits informationabout the role of the first wireless communication device 100,information about the fourth layer, and capability information, whichare contained in an action frame specified in the IEEE802.11specification. In this case, the communication unit 102 performs thetransmission when P2P-connected to another wireless communicationdevice.

Also, the communication unit 102 receives information about the role ofthe first wireless communication device 100, information about thefourth layer, and capability information, which are contained in anaction frame specified in the IEEE802.11 specification. In this case,the communication unit 102 performs the reception when P2P-connected toanother wireless communication device.

The control unit 140 operates the first application designated in aconnection discovery process based on the timing of establishment of aninter-device wireless communication connection. Also, when the secondapplication is executed while the first application is being operated,the communication unit 102 transmits information about the secondapplication contained in an action frame specified in the IEEE802.11specification. Here, the information about the second application is atleast one piece of information about the role of the first wirelesscommunication device 100, information about the fourth layer, andcapability information. Also, the control unit 140 can end the firstapplication based on the timing to start operation of the secondapplication. Also, the control unit 140 can reduce the amount of data tobe communicated about the first application based on the timing to startoperation of the second application. In this case, after the start ofoperation of the second application, the control unit 140 regularly orirregularly checks the operation state of the first application.

Also, when the second application is executed while the firstapplication is being operated, the communication unit 102 receivesinformation about the second application contained in an action framespecified in the IEEE802.11 specification.

The protocol switching unit 141 switches the protocol using aninter-device wireless communication between a protocol compatible withthe first application and a protocol compatible with the secondapplication. An example case where the protocol switched by the protocolswitching unit 141 is a protocol compatible with the second application(such as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast) is now described. In this case, thecommunication unit 102 transmits image data displayed on the displayunit 170 to the other wireless communication device, by using theprotocol switched by the protocol switching unit 141, for example.Meanwhile, the communication unit 102 receives image data to bedisplayed on the display unit 140 from the other wireless communicationdevice, by using the protocol switched by the protocol switching unit141.

The control unit 140 performs control to designate a specificapplication in a case where any specific application is not designatedat the time of an establishment process to establish a wirelessconnection (a connection in the second layer) but a specific applicationis designated after establishment of a wireless connection. In thiscase, the control unit 140 performs control to designate a specificapplication by transmitting/receiving data including information (shownin FIGS. 10 through 12) equivalent to the information element (shown inFIG. 7) for designating the specific application without cutoff of thewireless connection. The control unit 140 also transmits/receives anencrypted frame as data including the information equivalent to theinformation element.

For example, in a case where a specific application is designated by auser operation after a wireless connection is established, the controlunit 140 transmits data including the information equivalent to theinformation element for designating a start of the specific applicationwithout cutoff of the wireless connection. By this transmission, thespecific application is designated. On the other hand, there is a casewhere data including the information equivalent to the informationelement for designating a specific application is received from awirelessly-connected wireless communication device (such as the secondwireless communication device 200) after a wireless connection isestablished. In this case, the control unit 140 transmits data includingthe information equivalent to the information element for designating astart of the specific application, as a response to the data, to thewireless communication device (such as the second wireless communicationdevice 200) without cutoff of the wireless connection. By thistransmission, the specific application is designated.

Specifically, the control unit 140 transmits/receives a vendor specificaction frame specified in the IEEE802.11 specification as the dataincluding the information equivalent to the information element, forexample. In this case, the control unit 140 transmits a vendor specificaction frame that is a request frame using a vendor specific InformationElement as the information element. Also, the control unit 140 transmitsa vendor specific action frame that is a response frame using a vendorspecific Information Element as the information element.

The control unit 140 also encapsulates an association request frame bodycontaining the information element into a vendor specific action frameto be transmitted. This association request frame body has a vendorspecific Information Element used as the information element, andcontains the information element.

The control unit 140 also encapsulates an association response framebody containing the information element into a vendor specific actionframe to be transmitted. This association response frame body has avendor specific Information Element used as the information element, andcontains the information element.

In a case where a specific application that has not been designated atthe time of an establishment process to establish a wireless connectionis newly designated after the wireless connection is established, thecontrol unit 140 may perform control to designate the new specificapplication. It should be noted that the communication unit 102 and thecontrol unit 140 are an example of the transmitting unit in the claims.

As described above, in the first embodiment of the present technique, aspecific application can be designated at the time of device discoveryor service discovery conducted before a connection is established in thesecond layer. Even in a case where any specific application is notdesignated at the time of device discovery or service discovery, a frameincluding a predetermined information element can be transmitted after aconnection is established in the second layer. The predeterminedinformation element may be an information element to betransmitted/received at the time of device discovery or servicediscovery. With this, a specific application to be used afterestablishment of a connection in the second layer can be newlydesignated and started, without cutoff of the connection in the secondlayer. That is, a user can readily use a desired application.

For example, it is possible to switch to a specific application whilemaintaining a Wi-Fi Direct connection. For example, even in a case whereWi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast is designated and executed during operation ofDLNA, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast can be started without cutoff of theconnection in the second layer. Specifically, even in a case whereswitching to a specific application (such as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast)is performed after establishment of a connection in the second layer,cutoff of the connection in the second layer and reconnection in thesecond layer can be skipped. With this, the trouble the use needs totake and the waiting time of the user can be reduced. Also, the numberof packets required in operation can be reduced, and congestion inwireless communication channels can be relieved.

Also, in the first embodiment of the present technique, informationnecessary for starting a specific application is exchanged by usingaction frames that are used on a one-to-one basis. As the action framescan be encrypted, resistance to attacks from others can be increased,which is preferable in terms of security.

2. Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment of the present technique, wireless communicationdevices that exchange various kinds of information by using wirelesscommunications have been described. The first embodiment of the presenttechnique can also be applied to information processing devices (such assemiconductor integrated circuits) used in wireless communicationdevices.

In view of this, a second embodiment of the present technique shows anexample of an information processing device (such as a semiconductorintegrated circuit) used in a wireless communication device.

[Example Structure of an Information Processing Device]

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing an example structure of aninformation processing device 800 in the second embodiment of thepresent technique.

The information processing device 800 includes a processor 810 and amemory 820. The information processing device 800 is realized by asemiconductor integrated circuit, for example. For ease of explanation,components other than the processor 810 and the memory 820 are not shownin FIG. 20, and explanation of them will not be made herein.

The processor 810 is a processor that performs respective processesbased on a program stored in the memory 820.

The memory 820 is a memory that stores the program for causing theprocessor 810 to perform respective processes. Here, the program storedin the memory 820 is the program for causing the processor 810 toperform the respective processes described in the first embodiment ofthe present technique.

An example case where the wireless communication device using theinformation processing device 800 operates as the transmitting side isnow described. In this case, the program stored in the memory 820 causesthe processor 810 to carry out a first procedure to perform aninter-device wireless communication with another device in accordancewith the Wi-Fi Direct specification, for example. Also, the programstored in the memory 820 causes the processor 810 to carry out a secondprocedure to transmit an action frame that is specified in theIEEE802.11 specification and contains information about the role of thewireless communication device using the information processing device800.

An example case where the wireless communication device using theinformation processing device 800 operates as the receiving side is nowdescribed. In this case, the program stored in the memory 820 causes theprocessor 810 to carry out a first procedure to perform an inter-devicewireless communication with another device in accordance with the Wi-FiDirect specification, for example. Also, the program stored in thememory 820 causes the processor 810 to carry out a second procedure toreceive an action frame that is specified in the IEEE802.11specification and contains information about the role of the wirelesscommunication device using the information processing device 800.

The program stored in the memory 820 also causes the processor 810 tocarry out signal processing procedures to process image data, forexample. Further, the program stored in the memory 820 causes theprocessor 810 to carry out procedures to adjust power consumption inaccordance with operation of the processor 810.

[Example of Relationship Between Performance and Power Consumption]

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship betweenperformance and power consumption of the information processing device800 in the second embodiment of the present technique.

In the graph shown in FIG. 21, the ordinate axis indicates powerconsumption of the information processing device 800, and the abscissaaxis indicates performance of the information processing device 800.

As shown in FIG. 21, the information processing device 800 is controlledso that its power consumption will not exceed a thermal limitation valueeven when its performance is improved. That is, the processor 810 iscontrolled to adjust power consumption in accordance with operation ofthe device.

As described above, with the use of wireless communication devices eachincluding the information processing device 800, a specific applicationto be used after establishment of a connection in the second layer canbe newly designated and started, without cutoff of the connection in thesecond layer, as in the first embodiment of the present technique. Thatis, a user can readily use a desired application. For example, even in acase where Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast is designated and executed duringoperation of DLNA, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast can be started withoutcutoff of the connection in the second layer.

The above described embodiments are merely examples for embodying thepresent technique, and the items in the embodiments correspond to theitems of the subject matter in the claims. Likewise, the items of thesubject matter in the claims correspond to the items with the same namesin the embodiments of the present technique. However, the presenttechnique is not limited to the embodiments, and more specificembodiments can be formed by making various changes to the embodimentswithout departing from the scope thereof.

The processing procedures described above in the embodiments may beregarded as a method including the series of procedures, or may beregarded as a program for causing a computer to carry out the series ofprocedures or a recording medium storing the program. The recordingmedium may be a CD (Compact Disc), an MD (Mini Disc), a DVD (DigitalVersatile Disk), a memory card, or a Blu-ray Disc (a registered tradename), for example.

The present technique may also be embodied in the structures describedbelow.

(1)

A wireless communication device that performs an inter-device wirelesscommunication with another wireless communication device in accordancewith the Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) Direct specification, the wirelesscommunication device including

a transmitting unit that incorporates information about a role of thewireless communication device into an action frame specified in the IEEE(Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11 specification,and transmits the action frame.

(2)

The wireless communication device of (1), wherein the transmitting unitperforms the transmission when the wireless communication device is P2P(Peer-to-Peer)-connected to the other wireless communication device.

(3)

The wireless communication device of (1) or (2), wherein the informationabout the role of the wireless communication device is information aboutone of a source and a sink that are compliant with the Wi-Fi Displayspecification.

(4)

The wireless communication device of any of (1) through (3), wherein theaction frame is a vendor specific action frame specified in theIEEE802.11 specification.

(5)

The wireless communication device of (4), wherein the information aboutthe role of the wireless communication device is incorporated into avendor specific content area in the vendor specific action frame.

(6)

The wireless communication device of any of (1) through (5), wherein theaction frame includes a type information portion and an informationelement portion.

(7)

The wireless communication device of any of (1) through (6), wherein thecontrol unit incorporates information about a fourth layer into theaction frame, and transmits the action frame.

(8)

The wireless communication device of (7), wherein the information aboutthe fourth layer includes at least information about RTSP.

(9)

The wireless communication device of (8), wherein the information aboutthe fourth layer includes at least information about a port number usedin the RTSP.

(10)

The wireless communication device of any of (7) through (9), wherein theinformation about the role of the wireless communication device and theinformation about the fourth layer are arranged so that the informationabout the role of the wireless communication device comes before theinformation about the fourth layer in the action frame.

(11)

The wireless communication device of any of (1) through (10), whereinthe transmitting unit incorporates capability information into theaction frame, and transmits the action frame.

(12)

The wireless communication device of (11), wherein the capabilityinformation includes at least information about existence ornon-existence of compatibility with content protection compliant withthe Wi-Fi Display specification.

(13)

A wireless communication device including:

a communication unit that performs an inter-device wirelesscommunication with another device discovered through a connectiondiscovery process;

and a control unit that operates a first application designated in theconnection discovery process based on timing of establishment of aconnection of the inter-device wireless communication, wherein,

when a second application is executed while the first application isbeing operated, the communication unit incorporates information aboutthe second application into an action frame specified in the IEEE802.11specification, and transmits the action frame.

(14)

The wireless communication device of (13), wherein the control unit endsthe first application based on timing of a start of operation of thesecond application.

(15)

The wireless communication device of (13), wherein the control unitreduces an amount of data being communicated about the first applicationbased on timing of a start of operation of the second application.

(16)

The wireless communication device of (15), wherein the control unitregularly or irregularly checks an operation state of the firstapplication after the start of operation of the second application.

(17)

The wireless communication device of any of (13) through (16), whereinthe second application is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Miracast.

(18)

The wireless communication device of any of (13) through (17), whereinthe first application is DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance).

(19)

The wireless communication device of (18), wherein the communicationunit transmits a FIN packet (finish packet) in TCP (Transmission ControlProtocol) based on timing of the start of operation of the secondapplication.

(20)

A wireless communication device that performs an inter-device wirelesscommunication with another wireless communication device in accordancewith the Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) Direct specification, the wirelesscommunication device including:

a transmitting unit that incorporates information about a role of thewireless communication device into an action frame specified in the IEEE(Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11 specification,and transmits the action frame;

a display unit that displays image data; and

a protocol switching unit that switches the protocol using theinter-device wireless communication.

(21)

The wireless communication device of (20), further including anoperation accepting unit that accepts a user operation, wherein thetransmitting unit transmits the information about the role of thewireless communication device based on timing of acceptance of a useroperation for starting a communication of image data, the user operationhaving been accepted by the operation accepting unit.

(22)

The wireless communication device of (20) or (21), wherein thetransmitting unit transmits image data displayed on the display unit, byusing the protocol switched by the protocol switching unit.

(23)

An information processing device including:

a processor;

and a memory that stores a program to be executed by the processor,wherein the program causes the processor to carry out:

a first procedure to perform an inter-device wireless communication withanother device in accordance with the Wi-Fi Direct specification;

and a second procedure to incorporate information about a role of thewireless communication device using the information processing deviceinto an action frame specified in the IEEE802.11 specification, andtransmit the action frame.

(24)

The information processing device of (23), wherein the program furthercauses the processor to carry out a signal processing procedure toprocess image data.

(25)

The information processing device of (23) or (24), wherein the programfurther causes the processor to carry out a procedure to adjust powerconsumption in accordance with operation of the processor.

(26)

A communication method including:

a first procedure to perform an inter-device wireless communication withanother wireless communication device in accordance with the Wi-FiDirect specification;

and a second procedure to incorporate information about a role of thecurrent wireless communication device into an action frame specified inthe IEEE802.11 specification, and transmit the action frame

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   10 Communication system-   100 First wireless communication device-   101 Antenna-   110 Data processing unit-   120 Transmission processing unit-   130 Wireless interface unit-   140 Control unit-   141 Protocol switching unit-   150 Memory-   160 Operation accepting unit-   170 Display unit-   200 Second wireless communication device-   300 Third wireless communication device-   400 Fourth wireless communication device-   800 Information processing device-   810 Processor-   820 Memory

The invention claimed is:
 1. A first wireless communication deviceconfigured to perform an inter-device wireless communication with asecond wireless communication device in accordance with Wi-Fi (WirelessFidelity) Direct specification, the first wireless communication devicecomprising a transmitting unit configured to incorporate informationabout a role of the first wireless communication device into an actionframe specified in IEEE (Institute of Electrical and ElectronicEngineers) 802.11 specification, incorporate information about a fourthlayer into the action frame, and transmit the action frame.
 2. The firstwireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein thetransmitting unit is configured to perform the transmission when thefirst wireless communication device is P2P (Peer-to-Peer)-connected tothe second wireless communication device.
 3. The first wirelesscommunication device according to claim 1, wherein the information aboutthe role of the first wireless communication device is information aboutone of a source and a sink that are compliant with Wi-Fi Displayspecification.
 4. The first wireless communication device according toclaim 1, wherein the action frame is a vendor specific action framespecified in the IEEE802.11 specification.
 5. The first wirelesscommunication device according to claim 4, wherein the information aboutthe role of the first wireless communication device is incorporated intoa vendor specific content area in the vendor specific action frame. 6.The first wireless communication device according to claim 1, whereinthe action frame includes a type information portion and an informationelement portion.
 7. The first wireless communication device according toclaim 1, wherein the information about the fourth layer includes atleast information about RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol).
 8. Thefirst wireless communication device according to claim 7, wherein theinformation about the fourth layer includes at least information about aport number used in the RTSP.
 9. The first wireless communication deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the information about the role of thefirst wireless communication device and the information about the fourthlayer are arranged so that the information about the role of the firstwireless communication device comes before the information about thefourth layer in the action frame.
 10. The first wireless communicationdevice according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit is configuredto incorporate capability information into the action frame, andtransmit the action frame.
 11. The first wireless communication deviceaccording to claim 10, wherein the capability information includes atleast information about existence or non-existence of compatibility withcontent protection compliant with Wi-Fi Display specification.
 12. Awireless communication device comprising: a communication unitconfigured to perform an inter-device wireless communication withanother device discovered through a connection discovery process; and acontrol unit configured to operate a first application designated in theconnection discovery process based on timing of establishment of aconnection of the inter-device wireless communication, wherein, when asecond application is executed while the first application is beingoperated, the communication unit is configured to incorporateinformation about the second application into an action frame specifiedin IEEE802.11 specification, incorporate information about a fourthlayer into the action frame, and transmit the action frame.
 13. Thewireless communication device according to claim 12, wherein the controlunit is configured to end the first application based on timing of astart of operation of the second application.
 14. The wirelesscommunication device according to claim 12, wherein the control unit isconfigured to reduce an amount of data being communicated about thefirst application based on timing of a start of operation of the secondapplication.
 15. The wireless communication device according to claim14, wherein the control unit is configured to regularly or irregularlycheck an operation state of the first application after the start ofoperation of the second application.
 16. The wireless communicationdevice according to claim 12, wherein the second application is Wi-FiCERTIFIED Miracast.
 17. The wireless communication device according toclaim 12, wherein the first application is DLNA (Digital Living NetworkAlliance).
 18. The wireless communication device according to claim 17,wherein the communication unit is configured to transmit a FIN packet(finish packet) in TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) based on timingof a start of operation of the second application.
 19. A first wirelesscommunication device configured to perform an inter-device wirelesscommunication with a second wireless communication device in accordancewith Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) Direct specification, the first wirelesscommunication device comprising: a transmitting unit configured toincorporate information about a role of the first wireless communicationdevice into an action frame specified in IEEE (Institute of Electricaland Electronic Engineers) 802.11 specification, incorporate informationabout a fourth layer into the action frame, and transmit the actionframe; a display unit configured to display image data; and a protocolswitching unit configured to switch a protocol using the inter-devicewireless communication.
 20. The first wireless communication deviceaccording to claim 19, further comprising an operation accepting unitconfigured to accept a user operation, wherein the transmitting unit isconfigured to transmit the information about the role of the firstwireless communication device based on timing of acceptance of a useroperation for starting a communication of image data, the user operationhaving been accepted by the operation accepting unit.
 21. The firstwireless communication device according to claim 19 wherein thetransmitting unit is configured to transmit image data displayed on thedisplay unit, by using the protocol switched by the protocol switchingunit.
 22. An information processing device comprising: a processor; anda memory storing a program to be executed by the processor, wherein theprogram causes the processor to carry out: a first procedure to performan inter-device wireless communication between the informationprocessing device and another wireless communication device inaccordance with Wi-Fi Direct specification; and a second procedure toincorporate information about a role of the first wireless communicationdevice using the information processing device into an action framespecified in IEEE802.11 specification, incorporate information about afourth layer into the action frame, and transmit the action frame. 23.The information processing device according to claim 22, wherein theprogram further causes the processor to carry out a signal processingprocedure to process image data.
 24. The information processing deviceaccording to claim 22, wherein the program further causes the processorto carry out a procedure to adjust power consumption in accordance withoperation of the processor.
 25. A communication method implemented on acomputer, the method comprising: performing, by the computer, aninter-device wireless communication between a first wirelesscommunication device and a second wireless communication device inaccordance with Wi-Fi Direct specification; incorporating, by thecomputer, information about a role of the first wireless communicationdevice into an action frame specified in IEEE802.11 specification;incorporating information about a fourth layer into the action frame;and transmitting the action frame.